Biological and Chemical Weapons

Biological Weapons Agents

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• Anti-Human Biological Agents
• Anti-Plant Biological Agents
• Anti-Animal Biological Agents

Table 1: Characteristics and Symptoms of Some Anti-Human Biological Agents¹

Agent Type	Name of Agent	Rate of Action	Effective Dosage	Symptoms/Effects	Prophylaxis/Treatment
Bacteria	Bacillus anthracis l Causes anthrax	Incubation: 1 to 6 days Length of illness: 1 to 2 days Extremely high mortality rate	8,000 to 50,000 spores	Fever and fatigue; often followed by a slight improvement, then abrupt onset of severe respiratory problems; shock; pneumonia and death within 2 to 3 days	Treatable, if antibiotics administered prior to onset of symptoms Vaccine available
	Yersinia pestis l Causes plague	Incubation: 2 to 10 days Length of illness: 1 to 2 days Variable mortality rate	100 to 500 organisms	Malaise, high fever, tender lymph nodes, skin lesions, possible hemorrhages, circulatory failure, and eventual death	Treatable, if antibiotics administered within 24 hours of onset of symptoms Vaccine available
	Brucella suis l Causes brucellosis	Incubation: 5 to 60 days 2% mortality rate	100 to 1,000 organisms	Flu-like symptoms, including fever and chills, headache, appetite loss, mental depression, extreme fatigue, aching joints, sweating, and possibly gastrointestinal symptoms.	Treatable with antibiotics No vaccine available
	Pasturella tularensis l Causes tularemia l Also known as rabbit fever and deer fly fever	Incubation: 1 to 10 days Length of illness: 1 to 3 weeks 30% mortality rate	10 to 50 organisms	Fever, headache, malaise, general discomfort, irritating cough, weight loss	Treatable, if antibiotics administered early Vaccine available
Rickettsiae	Coxiella burnetti l Causes Q-fever	Incubation: 2 to 14 days Length of illness: 2 to 14 days 1% mortality rate	10 organisms	Cough, aches, fever, chest pain, pneumonia	Treatable with antibiotics Vaccine available
Viruses	Variola virus l Causes smallpox	Incubation: average 12 days Length of illness: several weeks 35% mortality rate in un- vaccinated individuals	10 to 100 organisms	Malaise, fever, vomiting, headache appear first, followed 2 to 3 days later by lesions Highly infectious	Treatable if vaccine administered early Limited amounts of vaccine available Note: World Health Organization conducted a vaccination campaign from 1967 to 1977 to eradicate smallpox.
	Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus	Incubation: 1 to 5 days Length of illness: 1 to 2 weeks Low mortality rate	10 to 100 organisms	Sudden onset of fever, severe headache, and muscle pain Nausea, vomiting, cough, sore throat and diarrhea can follow	No specific therapy exists Vaccine available
	Yellow fever virus	Incubation: 3 to 6 days Length of illness: 1 to 2 weeks 5% mortality rate	1 to 10 organisms	Severe fever, headache, cough, nausea, vomiting, vascular complications (including easy bleeding, low blood pressure)	No specific therapy exists Vaccine available
Toxins	Saxitoxin l Produced by blue-green algae commonly ingested by shellfish, mussels in particular	Time to effect: minutes to hours Length of illness: Fatal after inhalation of lethal dose	10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight	Dizziness, paralysis of respiratory system, and death within minutes
	Botulinum toxin l Causes botulism l Produced by Clostridium botulinum bacterium	Time to effect: 24 to 36 hours Length of illness: 24 to 72 hours 65% mortality rate	.001 microgram per kilogram of body weight	Weakness, dizziness, dry throat and mouth, blurred vision, progressive weakness of muscles Interruption of neurotransmission leading to paralysis Abrupt respiratory failure may result in death	Treatable with antitoxin, if administered early Vaccine available
	Ricin l Derived from castor beans	Time to effect: few hours Length of illness: 3 days High mortality rate	3 to 5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight	Rapid onset of weakness, fever, cough, fluid build-up in lungs, respiratory distress	No antitoxin or vaccine available
	Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) l Produced by Staphylococcus aureus	Time to effect: 3 to 12 hours Length of illness: Up to 4 weeks	30 nanograms per person	Fever, chills, headache, nausea, cough, diarrhea, and vomiting	No specific therapy or vaccine available

Anti-Plant Biological Agents¹

Rice Blast

• Fungal disease causing lesions on leaves
• Up to 60% crop losses possible

Stem Rust

• Fungal disease affecting cereal crops (e.g., wheat, barley)
• Produces pustules on stems, leaves
• Can cause significant crop losses

Sugarbeet Curly Top Virus

• Viral disease causing dwarfed leaves and swollen veins
• Transmitted by beet leafhopper, an insect that can migrate over long distances and attack many different types of plants
• Can be controlled through insecticides

Tobacco Mosaic Virus

• Viral disease affecting wide range of plant species
• Causes leaf blotching in mosaic patterns and stunted growth in younger plants

Anti-Animal Biological Agents¹

Aspergillus

• Fungal disease caused by Aspergillus fumigatus infecting poultry
• Causes lethargy, loss of appetite, and, in extreme cases, paralysis

Foot and Mouth Disease

• Highly contagious viral disease infecting cloven hooved animals (e.g., cattle, pigs, sheep, goats)
• Up to 50% mortality rates in young animals; can cause dramatic production decreases in adults
• Incubation period generally between 2 and 8 days
• Causes fever, loss of appetite, interruption in milk production, blisters (particularly around feet and mouth)
• Considered one of the most feared animal diseases because of its high degree of contagiousness and the large number of species affected

Heartwater

• Caused by rickettsia Cowdria ruminantium
• Disease attacks ruminants, including cattle, sheep, goats and deer
• Transmitted by ticks
• Mortality rates range from 40% to 100%
• Results in loss of appetite, respiratory distress
• No effective treatment or vaccine available

Newcastle

• Disease Highly contagious viral disease infecting poultry
• Causes gastrointestinal, respiratory and nervous problems
• Up to 100% mortality rate
• Incubation period generally between 5 and 6 days; in severe cases, birds can die within 1 or 2 days
• Vaccine available

Rinderpest

• Highly contagious viral disease infecting cattle
• Also referred to as cattle plague
• Spread primarily through direct contact and infected drinking water
• Causes fever, frothy saliva, diarrhea
• Vaccine available

Sources: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations, FM 8-9, February 1996; Robert E. Boyle, Biological Warfare: A Historical Perspective, Sandia National Laboratories, February 1998; U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Medical Management of Biological Casualties, Third Edition, July 1998; Col. David R. Franz et al., "Clinical Recognition and Management of Patients Exposed to Biological Warfare Agents," Journal of the American Medical Association, 6 August 1997; Malcolm Dando, Biological Warfare in the 21st Century: Biotechnology and the Proliferation of Biological Weapons, (Brassey's, U.K.: London, 1994); Institute for Animal Health, Reports and Publications - 1997; United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Rinderpest Eradication Program.

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